Pentagon: ISIS Still a “Potent Force” After 310 Airstrikes

A Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that despite more than 300 airstrikes against Islamic State terror targets, “ISIL still remains a potent force”. He also admitted that the long-term effect of the airstrikes will be minimal, at best.

“Yes, they’ve changed some of their tactics, there’s absolutely no question about that, in response to the pressure that we put them under, but that doesn’t make them less dangerous or less potent over time,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby.

He went on to say: “No one said this would be easy or quick, and no one should be lulled into a false sense of security by accurate airstrikes. We will not, we cannot bomb them into obscurity.” Kirby told reporters that this will be a long struggle and urged “a sense of strategic patience about this entire effort.”

According to reports from Baghdad, coalition efforts may not be enough to keep ISIS/ISIL out of the capital city. Vicar of Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, is warning that the Islamic State terrorists are on the verge of entering the city.

He told Megyn Kelly Tuesday night that many people fear that the massacre of Christians that happened in Mosul are about to happen in Baghdad.

“I fear for my people. I fear for what could happen to my people,” White said. And the Iraqi army, such as it is, is no comfort to him:

I said to one of my soldiers today, if ISIS were coming towards you, what would you do? He said, take off my uniform. Why are you in the army then? Why are you a soldier? What are you doing? Aren’t you protecting us? He said, no, I’m in it because of the money. How can you put your complete trust in an army who responds like that?

White said he does not believe the U.S. air strikes will keep Baghdad secure. “No, not at all,” he told Kelly. “I’ve had people, our people killed by the air strikes. I don’t know what is being achieved by them. But it’s very, very little. The fact is, people like ISIS can only be controlled by troops on the ground. And where are they? We haven’t got any.”

Col. Oliver North told Fox News that Canon White understands better than the White House “what’s really going on out there.”